Kraft board folding egg case



Dec. 30, 1958 L. w. ALEXANDER KRAFT BOARD moms EGG CASE Filed Jan. 31, 1957 Fig.

I INVENTOR Lesrer W A/exanc/er Fig. 2

United States Patent KRAFT BOARD FOLDING EGG CASE Lester W. Alexander, Rossville, Ind.

Application January 31, 1957, Serial No. 637,553

1 Claim. (Cl. 229-15) This invention relates to packing cases and, more particularly, to folding egg cases. v

It is an object of the present invention to provide a folding egg case that may be readily assembled for the packing and storage of large quantities of eggs.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an egg case that is constructed of a pair of separable blanks, of cardboard material, which may be readily assembled to provide a completely closed housing and center divider for the safe storage of eggs.

Other objects of the invention are to provide an egg case bearing the above objects in mind which is of simple construction, has a minimum number of parts, is inexpensive to manufacture and eflicient in operation.

For other objects and for a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a top plan view of an egg case made in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

, Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the elements of the present invention; and I Figure 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view, similar to Figure 2, showing a modified form of the present invention.

Referring now more in detail to the drawing, and more particularly to Figures 1 to 4, an egg case made in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown to include a housing blank and a partition divider blank 12. As is more clearly shown in Figure 4, the housing blank 10 includes an end portion 14, back side 15, opposite end 16, and front side portion 17. A tab 19 adjacent the outer end of the one end 14 is adapted to be secured, such as by staple, to the opposite end of the blank which forms one end of the front side 17 so as to maintain the blank in a foldable rectangular configuration. One side of the back wall 15 is provided with a pair of similar, longitudinally spaced fiaps 21, as is the bottom end of the front side 17 provided with a pair of similar spaced flaps 22. The upper end of the back side 15 includes a cover 24 that is hinged about a longitudinal crease line at one end and provided with a. pair of foldable tabs 25 that are spaced from each other by a V-shaped coutout 26.

The partition divider blank 12 includes a plurality of folded sections which are shown in Figure 4, to include an inside end 28, an outside end 29, a first'bottom portion 30, a pair of center wall portions 31, 32, another bottom portion 33, an outside end wall 34, and an inside end wall 35. All of the aforementioned portions are formed from a continuous length of rectangular cardboard stock material, folded along various predetermined lines to assume the shape shown in Figure 4.

In assembling the divider blank 12 and the housing blank 10, the formed divider blank 12 is preferably inserted from the bottom side of the rectangular housing so that the bottom portions .30, 3. are disposed outside of the flaps 21, 22, the center wall sections 31, 32, are received in the space between each of the flaps 21, 22, while the respective ends and center walls of the divider blank are disposed within the housing 10. Tabs 37, 38, provide means for securing the divider blank and housing blank together, such as by staples 39. In order to facilitate the storage, shipping, and use of the con tainers, they are preferably provided in knock-down form, such that the housing blank 10 is flat as isthe partition divider blank 12. Inasmuch as the crease lines are preformed, it is only necessary to erect the housing blank and insert the divider blank. In proper assembled relationship, the case has a bottom wall of double thickness, end walls of triple thickness and a center divider wall of double thickness. However, the housing blank could be made with double thickness side walls by making the sides of the housing large enough so that they can be folded inwardly to produce a double thickness at both the front and back. The folded in portions would then be provided with a slit so as to receive the center wall of the divider blank. In either event, the adjacent ends of the housing and divider blank are provided with aligned openings to provide hand holes 40 to facilitate the handling of the crate. Similarly, finger openings 41 in the cover of the crate facilitate the opening and closing thereof.

In Figure 5, a modified form of egg case 45 is shown wherein each half thereof is closed by a separate cover 47, 48, that is hinged to the center wall 49. Each cover member is provided with a closure fiap 51 that is adapted to engage with the inside portion of the double thickness end wall 52. It will be recognized that this egg crate may be made in the 'form of a half case which will be of substantially identical design to that hereinbefore explained, except that it will be half as large and devoid of a center partition wall.

While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shall be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claim.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

In a shipping case for eggs, an exterior walled cubicle housing having a pair of side walls and a pair of end walls, an interior space divider disposed within said housing having a pair of longitudinally spaced apart bottom portions disposed outwardly of said housing, said housing having a pair of longitudinally spaced apart bottom flaps defining a transversely extending space therebetween overlying said bottom portions of said divider, said di vider having a central partition dividing said housing into two main compartments and extending into said space between said longitudinally spaced apart bottom flaps, said space divider further comprising a pair of upright end assemblies adjacent to each one of said end walls, a cover member hingedly connected to one of said sidewalls, and each of said end walls and said divider end assemblies defining end receiving openings extending therethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,081,419 Benschoter May 25, 1937 2,423,332 Mayer July 1, 1947 2,475,107 Newsom July 5, 1949 2,597,846 Reeser May 27, 1952 2,631,724 Wright Mar. 17, 1953 2,671,598 Rosen Mar. 9, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 7.6.085 ermany a. t, Apr. 10, 1919 Patented Dec. 30, 1958 

